Panic Attack: Truths and Myths

A person who experiences a panic attack or more does not always find the best words to explain his feelings. And panic attacks are often misunderstood! In essence, panic attacks are one of the body's ways of responding to fear. But this response to fear is an exaggeration, disproportionate to reality.

This article aims to present how panic attacks are perceived at the social level and to offer people who experience them solutions for regaining control over the body and perceptions.

What is a panic attack?

First of all, a panic attack must be taken seriously, as it can be difficult to manage, especially on its own. DSM-5, the Handbook of Diagnosis and Statistical Classification of Mental Disorders, groups panic attacks into two categories: expected and unexpected.

Expectations may be caused by certain places, situations, or circumstances that have become triggers; the unexpected ones are the ones that appear without respecting a certain pattern or frequency. The exact cause of these is unknown, but certain factors may play an important role, such as genetic factors, stress, or a predisposition to stress.

It is also good to know that people diagnosed with other disorders, including generalized anxiety, certain phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and depression, are prone to panic attacks.

Not knowing when I will have my next panic attack is the hardest part

When they occur, panic attacks are accompanied by a great deal of fear and a strong feeling of lack of control and disconnection - and these sensations produce strong reactions in the body: fainting and suffocation, body tightness and trembling, jerky breathing, fear of a heart attack, fear of death.

In the absence of clear information and dialogue about this disorder, many myths have developed over time about the causes of panic attacks, how they manifest, and whether or not they can be controlled.

Myths about panic attacks

A panic attack can bring you to the brink of madness. Although at the peak of a panic attack, the person may feel that he has no control over himself and can no longer distinguish what is real and what is not, this is just the disproportionate response of the body, not the moment of losing touch with reality.

A panic attack can be avoided. The attack can be controlled to some extent. This is the case with expected panic attacks: once you learn to recognize the stimuli that trigger them, you can learn to get back in the present, to reconnect to what is around you.

In this sense, one technique that can be applied is conscious breathing - inhale for three seconds, hold your breath for two seconds and then exhale for another three seconds. And repeat. Practicing and focusing on conscious breathing can shorten the duration of a panic attack or make it less intense.

You can't react during a panic attack. Even in the case of unexpected panic attacks, some techniques can be applied in those intense moments: distraction from the inside out; now the saving inner dialogue can appear. Ask yourself and answer: What is around me now? What do I see nearby? How would I describe that object? Focus on the details, shapes, colors, textures in the immediate vicinity. Stops the wave of inner states trying to install.

How do you deal with a panic attack?

Although there are techniques that can be used by everyone, self-management of panic attacks is best learned with the help of a specialist. And the most common forms of treatment are psychotherapy and drug treatment. Without proper intervention, panic attacks can dictate the terms in which you live your life: you can start to avoid certain places, to give up certain activities due to the imminence of a new panic attack.

The best-known form of psychotherapy for this disorder is cognitive-behavioral therapy (or CBT). Through this form of intervention, the thoughts that precede a panic attack are explored and alternative reactions to stimuli are staged; other CBT therapists apply exposure therapy: they encourage the client to expose themselves, intentionally and intentionally, to the factors that trigger their panic attacks. Thus, the aim is to regain control over the body and its life through repeated exposure and desensitization to the triggers.

At the same time, the signal that the body is trying to transmit through these panic attacks should not be neglected. What needs does he have? Is it an aspect of life that you neglect? Is there an aspect of your life that you don't want to talk about?

Whatever the answer to these questions, panic attacks should not be seen as punishments or strange phenomena. Panic attacks are an essential part of life, which means being a sensitive human being in a constantly changing world, in a complex and even chaotic world at times.